ACPP executive director Kimble Forrister issued the following statement Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014, after the release of a new U.S. Department of Agriculture report showing that Alabama was among the 10 states with the largest number of households where food was often scarce or hunger was a major problem in 2011-13:

“Hunger is a huge challenge in Alabama when one in six households say they often couldn’t put enough food on the table to ensure a healthy, active life for everyone in their family. And it’s even more troubling that 7 percent of our households say they had to miss meals or disrupt their normal diets because they didn’t have enough money for food.

“Policymakers can take three big steps to fight hunger, which threatens the health of our children, our workforce and our economy. First, Alabama should make food more affordable by ending its state grocery tax and replacing the lost revenue responsibly. Second, Alabama should lift the lifetime ban that blocks low-income people with a past felony drug conviction from getting nutrition assistance to help feed their families. And third, more school districts with large numbers of low-income children should provide no-cost meals to all of their students next year by participating in the new community eligibility program.

“Far too many of our friends and neighbors struggle with hunger, but we can do something about it. With these three policy changes, our lawmakers can bring Alabama much closer to the day when no one has to go to bed hungry.”